DENTAL THERAPY PROJECT: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION & VISIBILITY GRANT PROGRAM

Letter of Interest (LOI) Solicitation

An Initiative of Community Catalyst

Dental therapists have been practicing in the U.S. for over 15 years and the evidence is clear: adding dental therapists to the dental team is a safe and effective way to improve both access to care and patient health outcomes. Despite the evidence, many communities are still unaware of the potential these providers offer. Community Catalyst’s Dental Therapy Project works to expand awareness and broad support for this a community-driven, community-informed policy option.

The intent of the Community Engagement, Education and Visibility Grant Program is to increase community leaders’, stakeholders’ and/or policymakers’ knowledge and understanding about the role dental therapists are playing in increasing access to culturally competent care, diversifying the oral health workforce, and improving patients’ health outcomes. Both new and existing projects are eligible for this grant program but projects focused primarily on implementation of existing laws will not be funded.

Please address each of the sections below in no more than five pages, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent font. As few as two pages is acceptable.

1. Project Summary

Provide a short paragraph that highlights the goal and overarching strategies of your proposed project. Succinctly state your vision of success: what will occur if your project is successful?

2. Why dental therapy?  

Briefly describe, from your perspective, why dental therapy should be considered as part of the policy/program options to meet the needs of your community or communities near you and why this a priority for your organization.

3. The Proposed Project

Provide a description of the project you are proposing, including:

• Your proposed project’s goal
• The strategies you will use to achieve your project goal
• The scope of your project – is it local, regional or statewide?
• The target(s) you must influence to achieve your goals
• Groups you would be partnering with on your project
• Expected outcomes and high-level timeline

4. Your Experience

Please briefly describe the following:

• Your organization’s commitment to equitable workforce and/or health care solutions aimed at historically underserved communities and the communities on which you will focus.
• Your organization’s experience and capacity for doing community engagement and education to create a favorable public policy change.
• Your organization’s experience or examples of successful owned or earned media communications to promote community engagement and education. 

GRANT PROGRAM DETAILS

Timeline – Key Dates

Priority will be given to groups that meet deadlines but LOIs will be accepted as long at funding is available.

• May 11, 2020: RFP announcement released
• May 27, 2020: LOIs due by 11:59 PM ET
• June 3, 2020: Applicants informed if selected to submit full proposal (Invitation to submit a full proposal does not guarantee funding but we will work with organizations to create fundable proposals)
• June 25, 2020: Proposals due by 11:59 PM ET
• June 30, 2020: Applicants informed of funding decisions

The maximum grant period will run July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 but shorter projects will also be considered.

Awards

Community Catalyst will provide grants up to $75,000 and up to one year in length.

Eligibility to Apply for Funding 

There is an open submission process for LOI. Selected organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal based on LOIs. Both organizations new to dental therapy and those with previous work on the topic are invited to apply. Multiple organizations can apply in collaboration. One applicant organization must assume fiscal and overall responsibility for the project and must meet certain eligibility criteria. The applicant organization must:

• Be a 501(c)(3) organization with relevant experience in organizing and advocacy
• Have a 2020 operating budget at least equal to the level of grant funding requested

Selection Criteria

The primary criteria we will use to evaluate LOIs and proposals are:

• Organization has a strong track record in advocacy and community engagement in public policy environments.
• Organization has a demonstrated commitment to health equity and bringing directly affected people into policy decisions.
• Extra consideration will be given to proposals that leverage outside funding

Use of Grant Funds

Grant funds may be used for project staff salaries, consultant fees, data collection and analysis, meetings, supplies, activities related to fundraising and development, project-related travel, and other direct project expenses including a limited amount of equipment essential to the project. Grants funds cannot be used to support lobbying.

How to Apply

LOIs for this solicitation must be submitted electronically to Laura Hale at lhale@communitycatalyst.org with a subject line that contains “CEEVGP LOI Submission.” No hard copy materials will be accepted as part of your submission. Applicants are encouraged to send questions to Laura Hale at lhale@communitycatalyst.org.

Questions?

Additional questions may be answered in the FAQ document. If you still have outstanding questions after reviewing the document, please reach out to Laura Hale at lhale@communitycatalyst.org.